Marcus Walker
Name: Marcus Walker Gender: Male Age: 17 Grade: Junior School: Detroit Central High School Hobbies and Interests: Sleight of Hand, Gambling, Architectural Design, Woodworking, Origami, Basketball. Appearance: Standing at a good 5'11", Marcus is quite tall when compared to the rest of his family. Weighing in at close to 160lbs, Marcus is a fairly well built young man, owing his athletic build to the time he spends playing Basketball and exercising. One noticeable feature are his hands which are a bit larger than average with long, thin fingers and he always seems to be moving them. Marcus' short, black hair tends to be kept well maintained and trimmed. Marcus tends to switch fairly often between a buzz cut and short-medium length spiked hair. While Marcus has occasionally tried other ways to style his hair, he tends to stick to spiking his hair and keeping it short. Currently, it stands around an inch in length and is always kept spiked, if only because it can't be styled any differently. While Marcus is of African-American descent, the relatively light tone of his skin has led him to question whether or not his father was also African American, as his mother is often incapable of giving him a straight answer regarding his father. While Marcus does have some callouses on his hands from his craft work, he usually tries to keep his skin in good condition, trying to avoid callouses and acne with only mild success. From his time spent fighting in school and around the neighborhood, Marcus has a number of small scars to show for his ill-spent adolescence, including one particular scar from a bullet wound, something he avoids discussing. A rather ordinary looking young man with large brown eyes, Marcus tends to take care of his face as much as he can to avoid acne and keeping his facial hair trimmed, though the sparse acne scars on his face give away his lack of success in prior years with the former, though his current attempts to rid himself of acne have met with decent success. With a pair of low set, thick eyebrows and a short, trimmed goatee, Marcus is quite proud of the fact that he appears more than a few years older than he is. His mother has often commented that he got his slightly long, broad nose and his strong square jawline from his father, but Marcus tends to doubt much of his mother's comments about his appearance. Marcus has had his left ear pierced at one point in time, but during a fight the piercing was torn out and the earlobe never healed properly, leaving Marcus with that torn earlobe. Leaning toward nice, casual attire, Marcus tends to take pride in his choice of clothing. He usually opts for nicer looking clothing while avoiding any known local colors, planning his wardrobe ahead of time as much as possible and often wearing neutral colors, such as grays, whites and blacks. Some of the more unusual choices in his wardrobe include Hawaiian shirts, usually dull in color to avoid standing out. While Marcus can always be found wearing a watch, the watch he wears will often change due to the fact that he sees them as cheap and replaceable. As such, he avoids any other flashy accessories and doesn't spend much money on any of his clothes or accessories, opting for the cheaper options. Curiously, Marcus carries two wallets, one loaded with small bills and useless gift cards in his back pocket and the other with his ID and important items in his jacket. Biography: Marcus was born to Victoria Walker, a single mother working mostly temp jobs, on August 28th, 2003 without a father listed on the birth certificate. Marcus was Victoria's second child, with Marie being four years older than Marcus. He was followed by Grant and Laney four and eight years later, respectively. None of them have a father listed on their birth certificates. For much of his life, Marcus has lived with his mother and grandmother and spent more time with the latter than the former. With his mother being absent most of the time, Marcus and his siblings were raised by his grandmother for the better part of their lives, causing a rather large emotional distance between them and their mother, especially Marcus. For several years, Marcus has felt that his mother didn't care for him or the other children, citing the time she spends away from home and the lack of time she spends with him or his siblings. Even with their grandmother present in their lives, Marcus and his older sister Marie were often tasked with taking care of the younger siblings and left with far more responsibility than they wished to have. As Marcus was growing up, he found that his grandmother Odell was often harder on him than the other children, holding him to nigh impossible standards and pushing him to live up to her almost perfectionist expectations. While Marcus strove to live up to her expectations, it never seemed to be enough. When he would fail to meet her expectations, Marcus was often met with Odell voicing her disappointment in him and putting him down, encouraging his lack of self esteem and, fearing her jabs as well as being yelled at or hit for doing something wrong, Marcus would often do whatever he could to avoid conflict with his grandmother. He learned very quickly not to talk back to her and to simply do as he was told. As the years went by, Marcus became more and more aware of his mother's issues with drugs and alcohol, noticing how often she was drunk or high. He has often tried to convince his mother to quit one, the other or both, but with little luck and with little help; his older sister was the only other voice of reason as his grandmother ignored the issue and his younger siblings were still too young to really understand the problem. His mother was slowly killing herself and Marcus blamed himself for his inability to make her realize this and would often take the blame when his grandmother was in a mood to take out her frustrations over her daughter on the most convenient target. With the issues at home and the lack of money in the household, Marcus' older sister Marie turned to her friends and ended up involved with a local gang. While she avoided a fate as a hooker or a dealer, her involvement with the gang eventually cost her life during a bout of gang violence between the group she was with and a rival gang. Devastated by the loss and not knowing where else to turn or what else to do, Marcus started to take his frustrations out on others. Getting in to fights with other students and with other teenagers around his neighborhood, sometimes over petty arguments and sometimes without any real reason. Marcus spent his fair share of time in the emergency room for broken bones and cuts, and with his focus elsewhere he began to slip when it came to his schoolwork. Due to the circumstances surrounding his sister's death, Marcus has always held gangs and gang members in the same light, regarding them as nothing more than useless and making a point of avoiding involvement with anyone who was part of any of the local gangs. In order to keep him and his family out of trouble, Marcus does not actively go against any of the gangs and tries, for the most part, to avoid them all together. While not always successful, Marcus has managed to avoid long term involvement with any of the gangs in his neighborhood. Despite this attitude toward gangs and gang members, Marcus has a relatively mixed history with the gang members in his neighborhood, occasionally finding himself on the same side as the gangs on some issues while coming in to conflict with them on others. Despite or perhaps because of his mixed history with the gangs, Marcus has recently noticed a certain level of mutual respect between himself and some of the local gangs. After his sister's death, some of the issues with his family got worse while others got better. His grandmother Odell still held Marcus in the same light as she always had, perhaps even in a worse light due to how Marcus handled his sister's death, but with the loss of her eldest grandchild she did become more protective of Marcus and his siblings. His mother was hit particularly hard by Marie's death and sunk further into alcoholism and drug addiction, but this lasted only for a few months before an overdose scare drove her to partially clean up her act and spend more time working, though she was still absent from the lives of her children and still struggled with addiction. After Marie's death, Laney grew closer to the rest of her family and latched on to Marcus in particular, appearing to replace her lost relationship with Marie by growing closer to Marcus. Whenever he was home, Marcus would spend most of his time with Laney, improving on their already strong relationship. Grant, on the other hand, started to put distance between himself and the rest of his family and started to act out, much as Marcus had, and began stealing. It took a rather strict intervention from Odell to bring Grant back in line and stop his stealing, but he continued to act out. Marcus tried his best to be a part of Grant's life and keep him out of trouble, but he didn't always meet with success in that regard. Eventually, the fighting and the issues in school and at home came to a head. When he was 15, Marcus ended up getting shot when he got involved in an altercation between rival gang members, resulting in him catching a stray bullet. While relatively minor and requiring only a short stay in the hospital, Marcus knew that things were just going to get worse for his family if he helped the police in their investigation of the incident. Avoiding handing over too much information on the incident while his family was still in that neighborhood and thus in the line of fire, his actions taken for the greater good of his family did little to earn praise from his family. But as long as his younger siblings were safe, Marcus didn't care how disappointed his grandmother was or what his drug addled mother thought of him. After the shooting and all the other foolish risks he'd taken, with the scars to show just how well the past year and a half of taking his frustrations out on others had gone, Marcus quickly realized that if he continued his life the way it was going, he was going to end up paralyzed or dead or worse, he could drag his family in to the equation. Resolving to become a better role model for his younger siblings, Marcus worked to control his temper and work out his issues in better, less violent ways, turning his time and energy toward his schoolwork and spending his free time on his hobbies instead of on fighting. Outside of school, Marcus tends to spend his free time playing basketball or cards with his friends. Recently, however, Marcus has started to work odd jobs around the neighborhood for whatever little money he can bring in so he would have money for himself and his siblings. Most of the money is spent on Grant and Laney but over the course of the summer Marcus accumulated enough money to purchase himself an old motorcycle for the purposes of getting around town. It was old and beat up, but it ran well enough and Marcus wasn't looking to buy one that looked like it cost very much, in the hopes of keeping it from being stolen. When it comes to schoolwork, Marcus has a few issues due to the lack of time he has to spend on studying, but he manages to pull through most of his classes without issues, though he had needed some help from his friends in order to keep up in a few. Despite the lack of time though, Marcus has started looking in to the community college courses and has begun planning to go in to Architectural Design, hoping to put his hands to work drawing out designs that would be useful. In the hopes of pursuing that dream, Marcus can often be found drawing up designs for homes and office buildings, often returning to the same home design over and over, claiming it to be the home he hopes to build for his family. Marcus has a number of concerns when it comes to school. One in particular, that of money, has often come up. Even with his grandmother taking care of the house and food, Marcus doubted that he would be able to pay for the coursework and the books for college. To this end, he has started looking for full time work around the city for when he graduates, looking in to GED programs in the hopes of getting to work sooner. Despite these concerns, Marcus enjoys the time he spends at school and still dreams of a future in Architectural Design. Even if he has to settle for something simpler in the mean time, Marcus continues to dream of building a home for his family. Ever since he was a little kid, Marcus has had problems sitting still and keeping his hands occupied, obsessively moving them and picking at things; his desk at school, his clothing, even his own fingers. In order to keep himself busy with idle work for his hands, Marcus has developed an interest in origami and woodworking, often doing one or the other while he studies. Marcus can often be found, during school or hanging out with his friends, folding small pieces of paper in to intricate designs and assembling seemingly innocuous pieces into something far grander, creating both abstract constructs and simple buildings alike, all out of paper. With a small collection of woodworking tools, some of which he admits to having stolen over the years such as small knives or awls, Marcus spends a good portion of time turning scrap wood into something useful or decorative. When he isn't spending his time folding paper, he is often carving and shaving wood in to decorative shapes, having created a number of little oddities from bits of scrap wood. A complete chess set for his younger brother or little wooden figurines for his sister, Marcus spends a great deal of time on such projects as idle work. He has even constructed a doll house for his younger sister from larger sections of wood he managed to find or purchase or even receive from friends and neighbors who know of his hobbies. Always working on something for someone else, Marcus takes pride in his wooden craft work. Outside of creating things for his younger siblings and making sure they are taken care of when it comes to nice clothing and proper supplies for school, Marcus also tries to keep them safe from the dangers of the city and the neighborhood they live in. Whenever he can, he'll escort them to and from school, making sure they always have someone watching over them when they play with their friends, and always keeping an eye out for less than savory elements around the neighborhood. Marcus has gotten in to more than a few fights in his efforts to protect his siblings, often causing issue between him and local gangs; diffusing the situations are tricky but by offering his own services, Marcus hopes to keep his siblings out of that life. His attempts to keep his siblings safe and keep their lives free of gang violence have met with varied success. When Marcus discovered his little brother with several dime bags of marijuana and more in a backpack, Marcus risked his life in confronting the dealer who had been using his brother as a mule and a lookout. With the help of a few like minded individuals, among them a member of the local gang, Marcus managed to keep the dealer from using his little brother or any of the other local children in such a fashion again. Despite Marcus' efforts, Grant has started to get involved with drugs and the gangs as he has gotten older and Marcus has, more than once, caught Grant smoking. Stretched to his limit with his family and taught from a young age to do as he was told and to never raise his voice or hand against a woman, Marcus tends to be a pushover when it comes to female friends and girlfriends. More than once, he has ended up dating a girl who was just as bad or worse than his grandmother. Despite his friends bringing the issue up and trying to get him to stand up for himself, Marcus has yet to speak up or stand up against an abusive girlfriend. This submissive attitude has slowly begun making its way into other aspects of his life and as a result, Marcus will avoid conflict wherever possible if he has a choice. Because of this, he tends to be viewed as a pushover by his classmates and friends, at least until the wrong button is pushed. Often playing a part in his offhanded interest in gambling, Marcus has studied sleight of hand tricks as a way to keep his hands occupied and as a means of breaking the ice with his friends and with girls around school. Focusing on card tricks, coin tricks and any trick he can use with dice, Marcus keeps an active interest in such things for the sole purpose of keeping his hands occupied when he cannot fold paper, carve wood, or draw floor plans, such as when he is in school or with his friends with no folding paper in sight. Keeping a deck of cards and more than a few good coins on hand, Marcus will spend his time idly playing with his cards or coins, performing rather mundane little tricks and saving the so-called good stuff for showing off. Despite his issues with socializing and being stretched thin in taking care of his family, Marcus does maintain a close knit group of friends that he counts on and trusts. He has often worked along side his friends when performing odd jobs around the neighborhood and his apartment building and trusts them not only with his life but with the lives of his siblings, having them babysit and keep an eye on his younger brother and sister when he is incapable of doing so. He trusts his friends with everything and tends to show his appreciation in numerous ways, showing them how truly thankful he is to have them by his side. Advantages: Marcus tends to be obsessive in the movement of his hands and has plenty of practice doing precision work, leaving him quite skilled when it comes to anything requiring precision or quick work with his hands. He also has a history of being quite the risk taker and not just when it comes to gambling, going out of his way to take risks if it is with good reason. The time he spends playing Basketball and his active lifestyle have left Marcus in good shape and with a good deal of strength. Due to his time spent taking out his frustration by fighting with other students and kids around his neighborhood, Marcus has some decent experience with brawling and a fairly high tolerance for pain. Marcus also tends to be very determined when he sets his mind to something, such as his schoolwork or dealing with a family issue. Because of his past issues with anger and fighting, Marcus tries to control his temper to avoid issue with his friends and classmates. When it comes to his friends, Marcus tends to be dedicated and loyal and will often expect the same in return. Disadvantages: Despite his attempts to control his temper, Marcus can be quick to anger when his buttons are pushed and with such a hot temper as his, this could result in some rather unfortunate outbursts. Because he is overly obsessive when it comes to his hands, he may have problems with distractions or an inability to keep still. Since Marcus is a known risk taker, he could end up taking the wrong risk and ending up in a less than desired situation. As a result of his issues with his grandmother and his past relationships, Marcus also tends to have a very submissive attitude when it comes to women, being considered a pushover no matter if the girl is just a friend or something more. Due to his submissive attitude making its way in to other facets of his life, he also attempts to avoid conflict with his classmates and friends, tending to shy away from such situations as a result. Because Marcus has a history of fighting and tends to have a pretty mixed history with the local gangs, some of his classmates may carry grudges or view him as a thug. Designated Number: Team Yellow no. 4 --- Designated Weapon: Airzooka Conclusion: Being big and strong and easy to influence might make Marcus his team's dumb muscle. Can he show that he's more than just that? Mentor's Comment: I wonder how much we can sell a Verizon branded Airzooka for... The above biography is as written by Dr. Nic. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made. Evaluations Kills: '''Devonte Washington '''Killed By: Madelyn Connor' ' Collected Weapons: '''Airzooka (designated weapon) '''Allies: Enemies: Mid-game Evaluation: Post-Game Evaluation: Memorable Quotes: Other/Trivia Threads Below is a list of threads that contain Marcus, in chronological order Sandbox: *When It's Time To Party We Will Party Hard! *Suspension of Disbelief SOTF-TV: *I Won't Back Down *Putting in Work *Trees, Trees Everywhere *Tread Softly *Tainted Love *Somehow Precious *Reconstruction *Familiarity *A Day on the Water *Sleep Your Thoughts Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Marcus. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here! Category:SOTF-TV Category:Characters